Art of treating wood for lumber.



UNITED OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. HALL, OF NEW YORK, N. .Y., ASSIGNOR TO Ab'llflRIi'lAN MAHOGANY COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

No. 901,096. Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Oct. 13, 1908. Application filed May 11, 1907. Serial No, 373,152.

7'0 all whom it may conccrn: thoroughlyasipracticable, either by seasoning Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. l'lALL, a in the open air, or by kiln-ghying, or by both. 55 citizen of the United States, residing at New It is then subjected, in a closed receptacle, to York, in the county of New York and State the-action of a VRCUUII] above twenty-live of New York, have invented or discovered inches of mercury, and which will be sulli certain new and useful Iin )roveme'nts in the ciently powerful and sull-iciently long con- Art of Treating Wood for .annber, of which tinned to remove from the wood practically Go the following is a specification. all the air therein contained. so as to make it This invention has for its object to proabsorbent or rec-motive to the fluids to be 10 duce,fro1n com arativel inex ensive woods, later applied. It is found preferahh-i, durproduets close y resembling )lack walnut, in; the vacuum process, to subjmt t he wood mahogany, or other high-priced woods, both to a moderate heat of approximately 90 lh, 65 in appearance and texture, asalso to render which has a tendency to open the pores and the same fireproof. This object is accomenable a better n- 'ithdrawal of the air with plished by a novel method of treating the a vacuum pump.

inexpensive woods so as to give them the Any desired coloring or coloring and tire appearance and texture, throughout their proofing solutions are then drawn or pumped 70 bodies, of the more costly woods, this being into the receptacle, while the vacuum is in contradistinction to the more coinn'ion maintained, until the. receptacle is full.

method of making imitationsof the high- These solutions may be applied either hot,

I I I priced Woods merely by surface finlshmgs warm or cold, according to their cluiractenswith substances which do not penetrate tics, and the solutions-arc absorbed more or 75 throughout the body of the wood. less rapidly by the absorbent wood or lumber Attempts have heretofore been made to from which the air has been Withdrawn b roduce imitations of mahogany and other the vacuum process. As soon as the recep l'iigh-priced woods, from less expensive hard tacle completely filled with the solution a Woods, of such a character that the appearhigh hydraulic or air pressin'c (preferably 80 ance and texture of the bodies of the woods from 300 to 800 pounds to the squmrc inch) is were changed throughout, so that the wood, applied and maintained until the wood is imin being treated as lumber, could be worked prcgnated to as great a degree as possible, up into any desired shape or in the manufacthe time required far this varying from. two ture of any (hash-ed articles. In these iitor three hours to twm'ity-fonr hours, accordtempts, however, various dilliculties have ing to the thickness and lnirdnvs-as ol the lumbeen encountered, so that such low priced her under trratrncnt and the amount of proswoods, colored throughoutto resemble the sure maintained. This pressure causes the hiqh-pric'ed woods, have never been SU('(.'I"SS- roloriug or coloringnnd 'lircproo'ling sohitions fully produced commercially, so far as I am to con'ipletuly iinprogimte the more porous 90 informed, and consequently have never gone port ionsol l he wood, and, to some extent, the into actual practical use. bod y or denser iortions ol' the wood. It the 40 My invention has for its object to overwood beremoved.l'ro'ui the rcccptacleali. this come the difl'icultics heretofore countered stage, and dried. out, the colorinp not uni in this line, andin this I have been sol'arsucl'orin throughout, but is deeper in the grain 95 cess'ful that my improved process is now in cells and in the more porous portions of the comnn-rcialg'use on a large scale with the wood than it in the denser portions, giving:

)rospects of greatincreaso or extent, so that tho wood a more or loss mottled or grained large quantities o lumber made from the appearance, \il'iich, for some purposes, is decheaper woods, but having the appoiu'ancc sirablc. in order, however. to give the wood ion and. texture of high-priced woods, are now amoreunil'oruicolwthroughout,wherebythe available in the market. more dousvportions aroco'lorml vcryinurh l he In carrying the invention or dis-covuryinto sanio as alotho more porous portions, it has effect the green lumber is preferably first i been found (ltSlfltllJh or n('('.cssaI to boil the sawed info boards, planks'." l'litthcs or deals wood l'orashorttime, i1ndcrconsideruble i)1-@.= ,1 .u.3 of any convenient size, and is then dried as sure and-at a high temperature; not long,"

enough, however, to impair the strength of the wood, but just long enough to di'liuse the coloring matter in the solution throughout all por tions of the wood, dense as well. as porous, or hard as well as soft. This boiling process will preferably be carried on at tem eratures considerably over 212 F., and re erably at temperatures ra ing from 225 to 280 F. It is ound'desirab e not to subject the wood to this high temperature until after the coloring matter is distributed throughout the more porous portions of the wood by the high pressure, as otherwise the action of the high temperature is likely to precipitate or affect some of the coloring-matters used, and it is not de expensive hard wood to employ for this purthat the grain or texture of this wood 18 quite similar to mahogany, particularl after'havin been treated as a ove describe and finally ried out or seasoned.

1 If it be desired to render the colored lum- 'boriireproof any suitable fireproofing salts, as tungstate of soda or phosphate of ammonia mi be'mixed with the coloring liquid an th he forced into the wood simultaneously the co oring matter.

In 0, out the improved process it has been foun essential thatthe wood should be thoroughly dried orseasoned before attempt-' ing toforce the coloring matter into the same, as any moisture in any parts of the wood has a tendency to resist the entrance of the colori solution and thereby prevent a uniform co oring of. the wood throughout.

The oiling or cooking process, by which the coloring matter is uniformly diffused throughout the wood, being affected at a high temmama of over 212 F. renders the wood ker than it'would be if carried on at low temperatures, and thus deep shades can be with the use of comparatively little coloring matter, thereby not only saving colorin' material but really securing darker sha es than would otherwise result.

Havir thus described 111 invention I claim arid desire to secure by etters Patent:

1. In the art of treating wood for lumber, that improvement which consists in sub jecting dry wood to the action of a vacuum in a closed receptacle for the purpose of removing the air therefrom, then forcing a coloring solution into and throughout the wood by a high pressure, and then boiling the colored wood to diffuse the coloring matter in the wood and thus give the colored product a practicall uniform shade throughout.

"2. In t e art of treating wood for lumber, that improvement which consists in subjecting dry wood to the simultaneous action of a vacuum and a moderate heat in a closed receptacle, for the purpose of removing the air therefrom, then forcing a coloring solution into and throughout the wood by high. pressure, and then cooking or boiling the wood to diffuse the coloring matter throughout the body of the same.

3. In the art of treating wood for lumber, that improvement which consists in subject ing dry wood toa vacuum process in a closed tank or receptacle, for the purpose of remov-.

in the air therefrom, then introducing a co oring solution into the tank or receptacle and applying a high pressure to the tank or receptacle for the purpose of forcing the coloring material into and artia'lly throughout the wood, and then boi ing the W003 under considerable'pressure and at a high temperature to diffuse the coloring matter throughout the body of the same and, darken the shades of color. i

4. The herein described artificially colored wood the entire body of'which is impregnated with a colorin material foreign to the natural'wood and w ich coloring material is spread or uniformly diflused throughout the texture of the wood; thus avoiding streaky appearance and giving the colored wood a uniform shade.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature,

in presence of two witnesses.

' WILLIAM A. HALL;

Witnesses:

Jonn 0. McCusxnn, O. M. SWEENEY. 

